The term “availability” in the context of telecommunications refers to whether a user is available to accept incoming invitations to participate in telecommunications sessions. For example, a user may be unavailable to accept telephone calls if the telephone line is busy. In instant messaging, a user is unavailable if the user's online status is set to “busy.” In the latter case, online status is set manually through a “Change Online Status” menu which is commonly available in instant messaging clients.
Telecommunications devices use availability information to decide whether to accept incoming telecommunications, alert users of incoming telecommunications, display incoming telecommunications, and other purposes. Availability detection, as implemented in existing applications, reflects either the utilization of telecommunications channels or the express unwillingness of users to participate in telecommunications.
At present, availability detection suffers from at least two drawbacks. First, the “availability” of a user reflects only the user's preferences; it does not account for situations in which a user's availability needs to reflect the preferences of third parties. For instance, in the employment setting, it is desirable for both employees, as well as employers to have a say whether the employees are available. Second, users often forget to manually reset their online status, and consequently, it is difficult to know when one's online status is a true reflection of his or her availability.
Therefore, the need exists for a method which addresses these drawbacks to provide improved and more robust telecommunications devices.